Democrats pressure Republicans to support Asian-American hate crimes bill
CBSN
Washington — The Senate will take up a bill addressing hate crimes against Asian Americans this week amid a spike in anti-Asian discrimination and violence during the coronavirus pandemic. But the bill may be subject to the first filibuster of the new Congress if an insufficient number of Republicans agree to support it.
The bill introduced by Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono, which currently lacks any Republican co-sponsors, would expedite the federal government's response to hate crimes against Asian Americans and strengthen guidance for state and local government hate crime reporting. Democrats have a narrow 50-seat majority in the Senate, and 60 votes are required to end debate on legislation and bring it to the Senate floor for a full vote. Without support from 10 Republican senators, the bill will stall — and provide opponents of the filibuster with further evidence that the rule is preventing Democrats from implementing their priorities. Many Democrats have pressed for eliminating the filibuster, which would allow legislation such as this bill to advance with a simple majority.President Joe Biden said France was America's "first friend" at its founding and is one of its closest allies more than two centuries later as he was honored with a state visit Saturday by French President Emmanuel Macron aimed at showing off their partnership on global security issues and easing past trade tensions.
The Consumer Federal Protection Bureau last week launched an inquiry into what the agency is calling "junk fees in mortgage closing costs." These additional fees, involving home appraisal, title insurance and other services, have spiked in recent years and can add thousands of dollars to the final cost of buying a home.
Retired Maj. Gen. William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic "Earthrise" photo showing the planet as a shadowed blue marble from space in 1968, was killed Friday when the plane he was piloting alone plummeted into the waters off the San Juan Islands in Washington state. He was 90.